Tulsa King is continuing to build up as “The Fifty” sets up the major conflict between Dwight and Dunmire, which could lead to war.
Dwight and his crew arrived at the manor to take in the burned ruins, with Dwight musing on how he’d threatened to do this sort of thing in the past but never went through with it. When Mitch noted the Dixie Mafia didn’t mess around, Dwight responded, "And we do?”
Dwight headed to the Montague wake, where Goodie had a horseshoe-shaped bouquet of flowers. He warned Dwight that Armand was trying to “make amends” via AA, meaning talking about Dwight’s possible new deal, which could get him in trouble with New York. Dwight connected with Margaret just as Dunmire showed up.
The duo’s face-off was intense, with not-so-veiled threats and Dwight refusing to sell the distillery. Cleo openly attacked Dunmire, with Mitch helping her. Dwight and Joanne talked about how Dunmire hadn’t made a profit off his own distillery for a decade, as it was illegal to sell directly to a customer. That unfortunately meant Dwight couldn’t sell his own liquor, but the fact that Dunmire was offering three times what Dwight bought the distillery for told Dwight it was actually worth more.
The Fifty is revealed in Tulsa King season 3 episode 2
To no one’s surprise, the insurance investigator was in Dunmire’s pocket to write off the fire as accidental so they wouldn’t pay. Dwight pressed Cleo on why Dunmire wanted this place so badly. The answer was an underground vault containing 150 barrels of 50-year-old vintage bourbon worth roughly $150 million.
Cleo showed off the main distillery, with Bodhi having to clarify “bunghole” was part of the apparatus. Dwight liked the “old school” feel of trading in booze as Cleo laid out that Dunmire had bought out or threatened all the competition, but this special vintage would put him out of business. Dwight figured all they needed was a distributor to sell stuff off. Cleo named Walden Eustice, with Dwight remarking, “Is there anyone in this state with a normal name?”
Goodie crashed an AA meeting looking for Armand with a litany of his crimes that was enough to drive anyone in the group to drinking again. Tyson offered his dad some work at the distillery, but Mitchell refused. Angie talked him into it just to keep an eye on Tyson.
Dwight and Mitch visited Eustice, who obviously didn’t want to cross Dunmire. A “chat” with Bigfoot swayed him. Cleo was visited by Cole, who tried to apologize for her dad before making it clear he wanted her with Cleo literally laughing in his face. Cole left with a biting line on how Cleo no longer owned this farm.
The Kansas City crew showed up at the distillery, with Bill not happy to have been kept in the dark about this whole thing. He warned that Dwight Dunmire was far more dangerous than Dwight realized, and his crew wasn’t prepared for war. Dwight struck a deal to use Bill’s trucks to distribute the liquor, with Bill getting a nice cut out of it. Bill headed out while getting a call from Vince to talk about Frank’s “sloppy” operation.
Mitchell showed up to work at the distillery while Bodhi shared he was ready to destroy the online life of Jimmy's killer, only for the guy to apologize to him on Bill’s orders. Cole told his dad about Dwight’s plans to sell the bourbon, instantly challenging his dominance. That had Jeremiah heading to Eustice, who tried to defend himself, only to be set on by Dunmire’s goons.
Dunmire fights back
A montage showed the crew getting into the distillery business before enjoying a toast. Tyson and Mitchell talked about Tyson’s standing as Tyson claimed he was about to prove himself, while Mitchell related he was there just to make sure his son didn’t sink too far into this life.
Cal met with Dwight to share how he was running for governor, with Dwight getting in on the ground floor, asking Cal for a “favor” down the road, with the reminder that Dwight knew of Cal’s many skeletons in the closet. Cleo was staying with Dwight and his dad, when Dwight heard a noise and went outside to be attacked by a masked man in a brutal fistfight. The guy was going for his gun when Cleo sliced his arm, sending him running off. The man was Cole, who had to report the failure to his father, who cauterized the wound with a red-hot poker.
As Mitch and Cleo got together, Dwight returned to the casino with Goodie informing him that the Armand situation was handled. Dunmire arrived to chastise Dwight on “squandered opportunities.” Cole watched Spencer being attacked by a guy and punched him out before he and the woman shared some banter.
Jeremiah openly threatened Dwight, who fired right back at how he wasn’t impressed and could tell for the first time in his life, Dunmire was scared. Dwight vowed to take away everything the Dunmires had built, and the pair left off as enemies.
This was more setting up the pieces with the clever touch of the special bourbon explaining why Dunmire is so intent on getting the place. It does seem Dwight may be underestimating the challenges before him that could lead to problems down the road.
Tulsa King streams Sundays on Paramount+.